Purpose of Consultancy
A critical component in the overall transformation has been the effort to establish a new operating model capable of realizing greater impact in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Habitat has operated within the SSA context for its entire history, beginning in Zaire in 1973 even before the international arm of our network was formed. Since that time, Habitat has helped families access simple, decent, affordable housing in more than 25 countries in SSA through a combination of community driven housing programs and partnerships.
Habitat’s strategy for growth on the continent has evolved considerably but our operating model has not fully kept pace. Today, Habitat operates through a network of increasingly complex programmatic partnerships; we are positioning ourselves to be more active partners for local government for housing related policy development and deployment; we are working with private sector actors to increase affordability; and we are expanding into new segments of institutional funding that have dramatically increased demands for greater compliance and operational transparency.
GI25 introduced a new operating model, the “Regional Hub”, which seeks to meet the demands of our new programmatic strategy through greater collaboration and interdependence across HFHI and Habitat’s National Organizations (NOs) in SSA. Regional Hubs introduce two critical changes to the way Habitat’s network will operate:
The Regional Hub aims to achieve operational sustainability by pushing HFHI resources closer to the field. The Hub will complement skills in NOs through shared services and drive accountability through greater operational integration.
The Regional Hub along with NO leadership will define and execute a regional strategy to build greater impact and influence within the market. The Hub will serve as a platform to support strategic investments in critical technical areas of expertise and to build implementing partnerships in markets where Habitat is not currently present.
The role of this consultancy will be to facilitate the creation of a five-year strategy for the establishment, operation and growth of Habitat’s new Regional hub in SSA.
Scope of Work
This assignment builds on work that has been underway for several years within the GI25 initiative and across HFHI teams. Within the GI25 initiative, regional models have been advanced in multiple locations around the world; the organization was able to establish its first global Theory of Change; and we have built a new global strategy for growth in institutional funding markets. At the same time, HFHI has made a commitment to greater investment in systems including a new global enterprise resource planning system
The successful applicant will build on the work already being done and will design a process that responds to the ongoing work globally to build greater alignment across Habitat’s operations. Implementation should anticipate coordination with global initiatives related to systems underpinning local operations, ongoing discussions related to governance of the network, and further articulation of our theory of change and its impact on global positioning. The Africa Hub and its membership are expected to be critical partners within each of these processes and the design of this engagement should speak to the interdependence of the regional effort with broader global efforts. We anticipate that the work will take 9-12 months and will include the following deliverables:
Project plan and inception report: consultant’s assessment of current state and a methodology for developing a regional strategy including a stakeholder engagement plan
Environmental Scan and Competitive Analysis: desktop review of relevant housing related issues, close competitors and funding opportunities within the region. This should build from and can include research undertaken by HFHI and NOs
Operational Decision-Making Framework: a decision rights framework that clarifies the relationship of the hub and National leadership teams in strategy, business development, operations and reporting processes
Regional Programmatic Strategy: contextualization of the global theory of change within the SSA context including key programmatic areas of expertise, geographic market prioritization, donor market prioritization and partnership strategies
Implementation Roadmap: a plan for implementation including milestones, investments and distribution of resources across the regional hub and its NO membership
Communications Materials: Communication decks for executive, Board and external audiences showing the underlying logic, high level strategic framework and implementation roadmap
Reporting and Stakeholder Engagement
The consultant(s) will report to the Senior Director of the Africa Hub, Habitat for Humanity International. The project will include at least one broader advisory panel including executive representation from within HFHI and across NO membership to ensure alignment with global strategic priorities. Beyond this, the successful applicant will need to engage with stakeholders at the National and Global levels, including:
National Directors
Members of National Boards of Directors
Global functional teams
Regional team members
The manner and frequency of this engagement can be determined in the inception phase of the engagement but the applicant will be expected to have ideas on how to engage these groups as part of the interview process
Selection Process and Evaluation Criteria
The Request for Applications will be advertised across all of Habitat’s usual channels for promotion including its website, industry websites and through its network of staff and supporters
Questions submitted by 21 May, 2021 (via email)
Applications will be accepted through 31 May 2021
Applications should include a narrative with:
Explanation of overall approach and timing of engagement
Remote facilitation strategy and inclusion of global participants
Related experience of the applicant entity(s)
CV’s of lead consultants and process for identifying any additional team members
Applicants will be expected to submit a budget for the engagement.
Applicants will be short-listed for a panel interview. Non-selected applicants will be notified.
Selection Criteria will include:
Understanding of the assignment and the business need
Proposed approach and timing of engagement
Relevant past experience
Competitive pricing
Familiarity with the SSA context and institutional funding markets
Experience with federated networks in the development sector
Applicants from SSA are strongly encouraged to apply
Questions and applications should be sent to: kcarson@habitat.org
Apply via :
www.habitat.org
